FOUR men who were killed in a crash in the early hours of this morning following a police chase have been named on social media.

It happened at 5.30am on Bingley Road, at the junction with Toller Lane. 

The group were travelling in a grey BMW which crashed into a tree. West Yorkshire Police has confirmed all the people in the vehicle who were killed were men.

Family members and shocked locals converged at the site.

One of the dead men has been named locally as Muthaza Choudhury Murthi, 22. His cousin Faisal Ali, 23, told the T&A: "He was a young lad enjoying life. He was an outgoing lad.

"He had just come out college, he had his life ahead of him. I'm devastated."

Muthaza Choudhury Murthi. Photo: Janaza Announcement / Facebook

Two other victims have been named online as Zeeshan Khalid and 21-year-old Arbaz Hussain, while a fourth is currently identified only as Tayyub.

Arbaz Hussain. Photo: Janaza Announcement / Facebook

Tayyub, named on social media as the fourth victim. Photo: Janaza Announcement / Facebook

Heaton area councillors are also at the scene. In a joint statement they said: “It’s a very sad day for Heaton, to lose four young people like that.

“We don’t know the circumstances.

“We are just trying to keep things calm at the moment and letting the police get on with their investigation.”

The road is currently closed to traffic and is likely to remain closed throughout most of the day. 

A spokesperson for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said it had launched an investigation.

Tonight the IOPC issued a statement saying they understood that, prior to the crash, an unmarked West Yorkshire Police car began a pursuit of a grey BMW 1 Series as it was being driven at speed. A short time later the car collided with a tree and all four men died at the scene.

The statement said that two of the men had been formally identified but the IOPC was not going to name them until all their identifications had been confirmed and they were confident their next of kin had been informed.

IOPC investigators had attended the post-incident procedures and would attend the post mortems of the four men. Statements from the officers involved, who were all being treated as witnesses, had been taken.

The IOPC said there was dashcam footage from the police vehicle, which would be analysed in due course. They were also in the process of gathering local CCTV footage and would be conducting house to house inquiries over the coming days.

Anyone who witnessed, or recorded, the incident was urged to contact the IOPC on 0800 096 9079 or email tollerlanebradford@policeconduct.gov.uk

IOPC Regional Director Miranda Biddle said: “This was a horrific incident, resulting in the deaths of four men, and our thoughts remain with their loved ones and all those affected.

“Our investigators responded quickly following the referral from West Yorkshire Police, and were at the scene shortly after the crash – this is vital to ensure we establish key evidence at an early stage.

“I would like to take this opportunity to invite anyone with information about the crash to come forward.”

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A woman who lives on a nearby side-street, who asked not to be named, said she was woken by a loud bang at 5.30am and rushed outside to see what had happened.

She said: "When I got there I saw a BMW which had crashed. The police were already there and one of the officers told me to go back inside but I stayed there because I was concerned."

She said the occupants of the car, who she described as "young lads", appeared to have been killed instantly. Police were attempting to resuscitate two of them in the road before an ambulance arrived while a third had to be cut out of the car.

She added: "It was only a matter of time before something like this happened with how the cars race down Toller Lane at night."

A resident of Toller Lane, who asked not to be named, agreed that the road is treated "like a race track at night".

She said: "I heard a loud bang and went outside and there was lots of police.

"I could hear police officers shouting 'Can you hear me?' into one of the cars, then more police and ambulances arrived.

"One of my neighbours said people had died and I saw a tyre on the other side of the road; it looked like a wheel had come off.

"They just treat this road like a race track at night and there's nothing to stop them, they are so loud even the houses behind us hear them.

"Two weeks ago cars were racing and one of them pushed the other into our car which was parked up, causing £6,000 of damage.

"I have been campaigning for years now to get speed cameras put up in Toller Lane to stop people driving dangerously, but I've always been told there haven't been enough fatalities.

"It has got horrendous, we're selling the house and moving away, we've had enough."

• The Telegraph & Argus has opened an online book of condolence for you to send your messages of sympathy for the four victims. Please note that all contributions will be reviewed by T&A staff before being published.